Warm and breezy today, partial lunar eclipse tonight

Bend, Ore (KTVZ) – Plenty of sunshine today and the skies will be clear overnight. Highs today will be in the middle 80s and the winds are expected to be from the southwest at around 10 mph. Smoke from the Austin Fire will migrate to the northeast while some low-level smoke from the Rowe Creek Complex West Zone Fire is dissipating.

There is also a partial lunar eclipse this evening that will linger past midnight. It will begin around 7:30 pm and last for about five hours. 96% of the moon will be in the shadow of the Earth close to 9:13 local time. Fairly good viewing in Central Oregon, unfortunately the moon will be low in the sky, but still visible.

Heading into Friday the region will still be warm and dry with plenty of sunshine. Highs will be in the middle 80s with a slight breeze. An area of low pressure will move across northern Washington and Canada as we head into the weekend. This will bring in a cooler weather pattern for the weekend. The northwest winds will arrive with a cooler component that will only allow highs Saturday to reach the low to middle 70s. There is not much moisture to work with so I anticipate a few clouds, but not any rain.

Sunday will close out the last weekend of Augusts and also the last weekend of the meteorological summer. Highs Sunday will be in the upper 70s, which is close to seasonal normals for Central Oregon in late August.

Monday will be slightly warmer with highs reaching the middle 80s under mostly sunny skies. Clouds do move in late in the day as the atmosphere gets ready for some rain.

Tuesday will be mostly cloudy and mild as highs reach the upper 70s. Showers and possibly an isolated storm will develop during the day. The showers will be scattered and off and on, so a widespread rain event is not expected. Any rain will be well accepted, but thunderstorms are not welcome.

We stay in the 70s Wednesday and Thursday next week with partly to mostly cloudy skies. There is more rain expected on Thursday, which will be nice.

The Drought Monitor was released today and there is no change from last week to this week with respect to our Tri-Counties of Jefferson, Crook, and Deschutes. Still about 90% coverage of “Extreme Drought” conditions. A sliver of NE Crook County is in the “Exceptional Drought” category, same as last week.

Thanks to all the fire fighters and construction contractors that have been on the front lines this summer.  A brutal fight this year, and a dangerous one, thank you for all you do.

Please, Stay safe and smart.

Don’t forget to download the Local Alert Weather App to stay connected with our team of meteorologists. 

You can get access to LIVE radar and receive urgent weather alerts so you’re always prepared.